


The Vala Prophecy

by Blairdiggory



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, Reader Has Powers, Violence, fluff with plot, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 10:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5783221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blairdiggory/pseuds/Blairdiggory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A champion is (willingly) chosen to compete in an Asgardian competition to see who can train the most proficient soldiers.<br/>Loki is prophesied to fall in love with a vala, a seer of Norse mythology with hidden powers and who is nearly always celibate.<br/>How did the reader get roped into these situations?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The short version of the prologue: You don't remember the first seven years of your life. You were found in a village that SHIELD raided due to a believed HYDRA infestation, only to find supernatural origins. SHIELD took you in to become an agent. You figured out you had powers, from clairvoyance to casting spells on people, and you learned to use them on your own as you grow. Much later, on a mission, you and a fellow agent discovered Asgard, and with Odin's permission, a small Midgardian colony was started up. Fury asked you to live there to keep in touch with Asgardian politics so they didn't affect Earth. And this is where our story starts...

You were never really sure where you came from, but what mattered more was where you were going. That was the life of a SHIELD agent.  
You didn't remember your childhood. Literally. It was like someone cut out the beginning film strip of a movie, and you were left to wonder what was going on since you turned seven.  
The SHIELD agents told you that you had come from an orphanage in a secret village that they had originally assumed was a Hydra hideout. They soon discovered that it was a more convoluted scheme than that. In one village house, they found entries, logs, and maps from nine places throughout time and space. They'd only been able to locate two of them. One of them, named Midgard, was definitely a codename for Earth. They only figured out the other realm, Asgard, existed because you accidentally got sent there when you were on a mission.  
Whoops.  
You were on an undercover assignment in Japan, pretending to be a cover band touring throughout Tokyo in various clubs because, dang, girl, you could sing. There was a dangerous operation in one of the clubs, and you had to figure out which one it was in. However, you hadn't loved the road life since it forced you to learn way too much about your SHIELD teammate Justin who had been stationed in Tokyo with you. Also, he really only spoke Japanese, as did basically everyone else in Japan, and it took you awhile to pick up on the language. You were pretty good at translating now. At least you could order food so you wouldn't starve or anything. You also knew a lot of swear words, which came in pretty handy when you finally found the leader of Hydra's mutant ring.  
You swear, who thought turning people into mutants and forcing them to fight was a good idea? It was sickening. Granted, you could sort of relate. You didn't know what was up with you. You didn't think you were a mutant, but you had some weird ass powers that ranged from clairvoyance to casting spells on people. You had hoped to get a Hogwarts letter or something of the like when you turned eleven, but it never came. Now, you just used your powers discretely. Fury had some inkling of what you could do, but he kept it on the down low. Justin knew too since you healed him from a deadly gun-shot wound, but aside from that, you were pretty secretive. You figured the second word got out, there'd be a headhunt for you, especially from Hydra.  
However, those powers also came in handy when you found the Hydra leader.  
You'd just been thrown across the bar and slammed headfirst into a line of mugs. Before a Hydra agent could shoot you, you chucked a glass stein at his head, and he crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. You stabbed him in the back and turned to keep your eyes on the other assassins. They disappeared behind a red curtain that lead backstage.  
"-Come on!-" you yelled at Justin who had just snapped the neck of another assassin.  
"-Get the rest of the people out!-" you told your other bandmates/agents before you whipped into the backroom. You attempted to run forward but your feet hit nothing, and you fell forward into space. You had time to think "What the f-" before you landed on soft grass. You were comfortable for that split second, feeling the earth beneath you, until Justin landed on your back and knocked the breath out of you.  
"-Where the hell are we?-" Justin asked once you'd both caught your breaths. A small village surrounded you, with quaint cottages and a governor's mansion at the top of a hill. It was sunny, not at all like the night you just left in Tokyo, and had no skyscrapers or any other high-tech stuff in sight.  
"-I don't know. Where'd they go?-" You asked, referring to the gang members.  
A shot rang out, grazing you ear. You and Justin headed in the direction of the shot. Another shot rang out, and you heard grunts as you turned a corner. You proceeded to run right into a hunting party. The bad guys had been shot through their hearts with arrows, and about twenty archers on the backs of horses spun and turned their bows on you. You and Justin dropped your weapons and raised your hands in the air in surrender.  
"I assume since these men were shooting at you that you are not in league with them?" the head of the party (at least, you assumed he was the head) asked you and Justin. Justin looked hopelessly at you for a translation.  
"-He's asking if we work for them-"  
Justin immediately made gestures at the party to signal that no, you did not work for them. This seemed to surprise the man.  
"You understand Allspeak?" he asked curiously.  
"What's Allspeak?" you asked back.  
"…It's the language we're speaking right now."  
"I guess so? I call it English."  
"Ah." Recognition dawned on the man's face. "You're from Midgard."  
That made you tense. You knew the word from previous SHIELD investigations.  
"Aren't we on Midgard?" you asked. It was probably a stupid question.  
"We're on Asgard," the head answered.  
"And what country is Asgard in?"  
"Asgard is a world, not a country. Like Nilfheim or Alfheim." He nodded at you. "Or Midgard."  
"-Why do you look so pale? What's he saying?-" Justin asked you.  
You translated for him.  
"-He's crazy. Let's leave.-"  
"Funny, you're the only Midgardians around here that can speak Allspeak. Most speak another language we can't decipher, the one your friend is speaking," the head continued.  
"You mean there are more, um, Midgardians, around here."  
"Yes, the village here is full of them. From what we gathered, they were being held hostage here by these men we just killed." He nodded at the bodies in front of his horse.  
"Well, thank you for killing them! We'll just be on our way now," you said, and you and Justin hurried the hell out of there. You turned the same corner but couldn't find how you got here. There was no doorway or red curtain in sight. You ran back to the hunting party, where everyone was getting ready to leave.  
"Do you happen to know how to get back to, um, Midgard?" you asked.  
"The portal should still work. It's in the middle of the road. We've been staking it out for months trying to catch the bosses of this crime ring. Are you returning?"  
"Yeah."  
"We'll be sending the rest of the Midgardians through with you. They'll need to go back."  
"Awesome! Sounds… awesome. Yeah. Thank you."  
You ran back to Justin.  
"-How do we get back?-" he asks.  
"-They said there's a-" You didn't know the word for portal. So you tried to explain it the best you can.  
"Chell, Wheatly, GLaDOS. –Door-"  
"Oh! Portal!"  
"-Yes!-"  
"-I think they're just crazy.-"  
You weren't so sure. You inched along with your hand out, trying to make sure you don't stumble through something. When you crossed the middle section of the road, your arm from your hand to your elbow disappeared.  
"Oh, my God," you whispered. You could feel the stares of the hunting party watching you. You got the feeling that they're incredibly amused.  
Before Justin could protest, you walked through the portal. You landed back in the club, on the other side of the red curtain. Police sirens were wailing. Cops were just starting to come in. You hopped back into the void.  
"JUSTIN THERE'S A PORTAL WHAT DO WE DO?" You grabbed Justin's shirt.  
Justin was just as dumbstruck as you.  
"Yes, there are portals like that around Asgard. We'll have to keep a closer eye on this one," said the hunting party leader. They were dragging the dead men with them. When the villagers saw this they begin to come out of their homes. They looked awestruck. Some were crying with relief. They ran out to thank the hunting party, and you and Justin.  
"All right, everybody, you all need to go home," shouted the hunting party leader. He pointed through the portal. Most people seemed to get the message, but they didnn't budge.  
"Can you translate for them?" The head asked you. You did this. The people still didn't move. A man who appeared to have some control of his fellow villagers made his way to you.  
"-Tell him that we would like to stay.-"  
"Are you serious?"  
He nodded. You sighed.  
"He says they'd like to stay here. You know. In Asgard."  
The man looked displeased.  
"I don't think the king would be very happy about that. They have to go back."  
The man whispered to you again.  
"He says they've already lived here so long that it will be hard to go back to normal life. They won't get involved in politics or harm you in any way. He asks you to please ask the king to let them stay."  
The head didn't look happy about it, but he agreed to the terms.  
"I'll ask, but if he says no, then they have to leave."  
You translated. Heads nodded in agreement.  
As the hunting party left, you and Justin said goodbye to the villagers and hopped through the portal. You had to tell Fury about this. This would change everything


	2. Chapter 1

You'd been in the town for a while now. After Fury had a fit about the fact that a new planet/universe/thing had been discovered, he decided to keep it on the down low. Obviously since these people hadn't killed you, they had no intention of harming "Midgardians" or invading the planet. You'd spent a lot of time trying to figure out how Norse mythology worked. You ended up reading Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, which you guessed was helpful.  
The people of the town had been allowed to stay, sort of like a colony, since the town was small and out-of-the-way. You had been stationed there for a year since Fury wanted you to keep tabs on Asgardian politics and make sure that there was no impending doom coming to Earth (or, more accurately, America).  
The town had really cleaned itself up. After pooling funds, they had a steady supply of Midgardian food, money, and entertainment. They even set up their own dance club (affectionately called Pandemonium), which you basically lived at since you had spent so much time at clubs on your undercover work. Also you were the only one who could explain to random Asgardians who meandered over to the hot spot that they had to pay with Japanese Yen. It rarely went over well.  
You practiced magic in the time you had. It was like Asgard cleared your head, and your magic flowed so much more naturally here. Your second sight worked better too.  
"Hey," you spoke to the club manager one afternoon. "-Can you let me off at one? The mayor will need me for a translation.-"  
"-Fine, but fix the stage lights first.-"  
The manual only came in English. Just your luck.  
You didn't realize the time until you heard a small boy come into the building, looking for you. You ran off from your almost-sort-of-not-really fixed stage lights and up to the mayor's building. You saw horses tethered outside. Why couldn't Asgardians invent cars? They were so advanced in technology, but they still rode around on freaking horses.  
Then you recognized the Asgardian Seal on the saddles of the horses. You hopped up the steps into the white building.  
The captain of the guard (the man who had been the head of the hunting party, you figured out) was inside with his backup, attempting to talk to the mayor. He wasn't really getting through, so he brightened up when he saw you enter.  
"Ah, hello!" you bowed, more out of habit more than anything. "What brings you here today?"  
"Surely you've heard of the Asgardian Training Competition?"  
You turned to the mayor and translate this to him. Neither of you had any idea what he was talking about.  
"Sorry, no. What is it?"  
"The Competition occurs every ten years. King Odin and his Court bring in the best warriors from the realms we are at peace with to train the incoming guards of Asgard. We bring the best from Niflheim, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, and Muspellheim, and this year we have been instructed to bring a champion from Midgard as well."  
"That sounds wonderful!" You translated for the mayor. He nodded in approval. "Who have you chosen to represent Midgard?"  
"Well… We would like to bring a Midgardian who is already associated with Asgard so as not to produce… utter panic."  
"Makes sense."  
"And you village is the only of its kind in Asgard. Unfortunately we do not have much information on your battle statistics. So we would like your mayor to elect a champion."  
You translated this. The mayor sort of pushed you toward the captain.  
"-What are you doing?-" you asked.  
"-I am choosing a champion.-"  
"-What?! Fury will kill me if I did anything like this. I need to stay out of sight, remember…-"  
"-You're clearly more trained than anyone else in this village!-"  
"-I don't even know what I'm doing!-"  
The guards watched you argue. It was both awkward and entertaining. Especially since they had no idea what you were saying.  
"-It's a great honor, right? Go for it!-" the mayor said.  
"-I'm gonna die, aren't I?-"  
"-Probably yes.-"  
"-Ugh, fine.-" You turned back to the captain with a bittersweet smile on your face. "He's chosen someone."  
"Excellent! Who will be accompanying us back?"  
"I will."  
The guards looked startled.  
"Is there a problem with this?" you asked.  
"No, of course not." The captain straightened up. "We were just not expecting a female warrior."  
"Oh."  
"Nevertheless, you were chosen, so you shall fight for your realm's honor. All of your needs will be provided for you at the castle, unless you need to grab anything from your residence?"  
You quickly grabbed your dagger, your Magnus Chase and other Norse mythology books, and headed back to the entourage of horses. Fury was actually going to murder you on the spot for this, but hey, at least you were right in the heat of Asgardian politics! You could get information more quickly! And it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?  
…Right?

"I don't understand why we're allowing the Midgardians to participate in this competition. They're oblivious to our existence," Prince Loki said.  
"We host their small town on the edge of Asgard. Including them in the festivities will bring our realms closer together," King Odin explained.  
"I think it will be great fun to see what their man has to say about Asgardian training!" Prince Thor grinned at his brother.  
"They won't be able to teach us anything. They do not have our expertise," Loki insisted.  
"We will see," Odin said. "The guests are arriving. Be prepared to meet them in the banquet hall."  
He smiled.  
"I think this will be a most interesting Competition this year."


	3. Chapter 2

You were not used to riding a horse so it took you a while longer to get to the castle. When you arrived, you were directed through the front doors and down myriad hallways until you came to your guest room.  
The room you would be living in for the competition was bigger than the house you lived in in the town. Its ceiling rose at least twenty feet tall. You had a king bed, a large closet, and a large bathroom leading off to the right. The entire left side of the room was a window, but the curtains were closed.  
A woman ran in right after you entered.  
"Hello! I am the personal assistant of (f/n) (l/n). Would that be you?"  
You started but nodded your heads. The woman grinned.  
"Excellent! My name is Brin. I will be the one helping you throughout the next few weeks. Now, I think your clothes should have been delivered by now… It was hard to guess sizes since we didn't have your information ahead of time like everyone else's, but I think we'll manage."  
A maid came by the door hauling a rack of dresses.  
"Ah! That's them! Here are your clothes for the week, Miss."  
"Uh, won't I be training soldiers in this competition?"  
"Yes, Miss."  
"So, is there a chance I can get some pants or something because… you know… it would be really hard to train people to fight in dresses."  
Brin looked astounded, but had a quick whispered conversation with the maid.  
"That can be arranged. Pardon me for being brash, but since you're from Midgard, you may not know that it's not… typical… of a lady to wear pants as men wear."  
"Yeah, but it looks like people weren't counting on a woman warrior either so… yeah. Pants please."  
"As you wish."  
The maid brought the dresses in, and Brin held up each, trying to match the dress to your looks. Finally, she selected a (color that looks best on you) dress. She helped you tidy up in the bathroom and finally put the dress on you. You looked in the mirror, and hot damn, you looked gorgeous. Brin glanced at the clock and rushed you out of the bathroom.  
"We have ten minutes to get you to the banquet hall for the Initiation Ceremony. Quickly, let's begin walking over so we don't look rushed."  
It was only when you were at the banquet hall doors that Brin relaxed.  
"We're right on schedule. It looks like we aren't the last ones here, either."  
You looked around at the men surrounding you. One man, who was shorter with dark skin, was talking to a tall, pale man. A man with skin so dark it appeared to be made of charcoal sat gazing at his competition. A man with stark white hair and pale eyes was walking in with his personal assistant. He attempted to greet the ebony man, who shook him off.  
"Looks like only Lord Njord is missing," Brin said. "I shall take leave now. I will be in your room when you return from dinner." She smiled at you and left.  
You took a seat on a bench on the opposite side of the black man. When there was one minute left before entry, a man with a great beard and bulging muscles entered the dais with his servant. He looked around the room, laughed, and proceeded to introduce himself to everybody. This didn't seem to be necessary as everyone seemed to know who he was already. They grimaced after he shook their hands. Either he was really annoying or he wasn't the sort of man you wanted to compete against. He passed over you, looking around.  
"But where is the Midgardian man? Surely he didn't forfeit already!" He laughed some more. You figured both your assumptions about him were correct.  
"Um, I'm right here," you said, waving. The man's eyes dropped to you. He looked confused then grinned.  
"So the Midgardians sent a female champion?" he boomed.  
"Clearly."  
"And I thought they were going to make this competition interesting!" The other competitors were glancing at you, either confused or sneering.  
"Interesting how?" you asked mildly. "Interesting as in your ass is going to be kicked by in this competition? You better believe it'll be interesting."  
The man looked shocked that you said something like that to him and was about to retaliate when the doors opened. Prince Thor and Prince Loki, whom you only knew from descriptions, stood in front of the table. Three men and a lady flanked them.  
"Welcome, warriors," said Prince Thor. "Take a seat! Let the ceremony begin!"

All of the champions were named by title and realm. Njord was from Vanaheim, the back man (Sinbad) from Muselheim, etc. Once they got around to you, there were some looks of confusion, with the exception of the lady, whose expression said something akin to "Oh thank God we've finally got a female champion". You decided to sit by her when the feast started.  
Some of the champions were chatty. Some were not. Lord Njord was unfortunately one of the chatty ones. He seemed familiar enough with the princes.  
"An honor to meet you," he said loudly, leaving his comment to you behind.  
As everyone ate, Njord continued to speak.  
"It looks like an interesting turn-out this year. When my father was in this competition, he said it was the champions that made it worthwhile."  
The tall, white man rolled his eyes. Nobody seemed to care much for Njord or his father.  
"Of course, it was bound to be more interesting when Lady Cassandra announced that Midgard would participate this year."  
"Who's Lady Cassandra?" you asked, biting into your food.  
Njord looked at you condescendingly. "She's the head of the royal vala."  
You vaguely remembered the term from Magnus Chase. "I don't think we have those on Midgard. What's a vala?"  
Njord looked at you as if you were a toddler he was teaching basic addition to. "Vala are seers. They perform magic to tell people of what to come. Surely you've heard of Ragnarok?"  
"Yes, I am familiar with the end of the world."  
"Lady Sybil was the first to predict it millennia ago. And just recently, Prince Loki was given a prophecy-"  
Loki tensed and shoved a flask of mead into Njord's hands. "Have you got this mead in Vanaheim? It's made from Asgardian…" He continued on about an unimportant plant.  
You had to admit, the princes were attractive. It's not like you were paying attention or anything, but Prince Loki looked nothing like he did in Magnus Chase, and his looks made you quite content.  
You whispered to the woman next to you, whose name you learned was Sif. "What prophecy was given to Prince Loki? Do I want to know?"  
"He's supposed to fall in love with a vala."  
The look that Loki shot Sif had the equivalent meaning of a rude hand gesture.  
"…Ok, that sounds fine. Why's he so touchy about it?"  
"Vala are almost always celibate. Even if he loves her, she probably won't reciprocate the feelings."  
"Ouch. At least you and Thor have each other, right?"  
Sif tried to hide her blush. Fandral (you think that was his name? It was hard to tell which warrior of the Warriors Three was which) choked on the roll he was eating because he was laughing so hard.  
"Thor and I are not courting…"  
"I am so sorry, I read that in a bad Norse mythology book, I didn't realize-"  
"No, no, it's fine." Fandral was still laughing. Sif chucked a fork at his head. "Not all of the myths you have on Midgard are true."  
"Yeah, I figured… Wait, is the story about Sleipnir the eight-legged horse true?"  
"…What?"  
"Never mind." You were seriously bummed out that your favorite story about Loki giving birth to a magic horse wasn't true, but you could live with it.  
"Ah, Midgardians are so simple, aren't they?" Njord said, tuning into your conversation.  
"Excuse me, but were we talking to you?" you asked, annoyed at his insult.  
Njord looked put off with your response.  
"It's only a fact. They were fooled into thinking that Asgardians were gods and created stories about us. Isn't that adorable?"  
"Hey, I don't barge into your conversation and start insulting your planet, do I? What the heck, man?"  
Njord looked confused by your colloquialisms, but continued.  
"I mean, of course you don't understand, you're but a woman-"  
Sif looked put off, but rolled her eyes, knowing there was no arguing with this guy. You, on the other hand…  
"At least I'm not a man like you who just blows hot air. I can actually fight with more than petty insults."  
That got the table quiet.  
Njord flushed. "Learn your place, woman."  
"My place? You mean at the table with the best warriors of Asgard, including Sif? I'm already there. And if you make one more crack about Midgard or women, I'm gonna stab you with a fork."  
"You are below me."  
You stabbed him in the hand with a fork. Sif was trying to cover up her laughter. The other champions looked around the room, sharing questioning looks and smirks.  
"Well!" Thor said, clapping his hands together. "This has been a great feast, but I'm afraid we must retire for the evening in order for a bright start on tomorrow's first challenge. Your assistants will accompany you back to your rooms."  
The door opened slowly, showing the assistants in a line. Everybody got up quickly. Sif winked at you as you strode off confidently. As everyone moved off to their rooms, the princes, the Warriors Three, and Sif stayed to talk.  
"What do you think about the Midgardian?" Thor asked cautiously.  
Sif grinned wickedly. "I love her. She'll be a fine competitor. Plus, we need a girl to shake things up around her."  
Oddly enough, Loki was thinking the same thing. The Midgardian would be interesting indeed. He'd have to pay special attention to her…


	4. Chapter 3

When you woke up the next morning, you vaguely remembered dreaming some names. You'd often had dreams like these, where you could remember details, items, or names, and they usually came in handy later. You looked around you room to find paper and a pencil (you only came up with ink and a quill. Damn Asgardian technology.), and you wrote the names down. There were ten total.  
Brin came in soon after. Once you were dressed (you had pants now), Brin walked with you to the dining hall, where some of the champions were eating breakfast. Njord wasn't there yet. He must've needed his beauty sleep, you thought. You piled food onto your plate and began to eat.  
When Njord did come in, his first comment was addressed at you. "Well, that certainly is a lot of food."  
You feigned ignorance, pointing a fork at another champion. "I know. God, Sinbad, you'll get fat if you eat that much." Sinbad nodded stoically, going along with your joke.  
"I was referring to you."  
"Well, I need the calories for training. Your plan of making me eat less so I pass out while fighting has been foiled."  
"That's not what I meant."  
"Dude, how are you not getting the 'I seriously don't care what you're saying' vibe?"  
Njord looked pissed off (yay!) and sat down to eat in silence (also yay!).  
Just as Njord finished, the doors opened to reveal the princes, Sif, and the warriors three. Everyone got up and bowed, and you followed suit.  
"Champions!" Thor bellowed. "This year will be a most important tournament because it takes place just before my coronation. I will need great soldiers to put in my ranks. We have chosen 60 of the most competent guards from the training fields, and you will each take ten under your wing. The guards who prove to be the most skilled at the end of the month will make their way into the royal army, and the trainer will bring honor to their homeworld as the winner of the tournament!  
"You will now choose your soldiers. They are showing off their skills in the training fields as we speak, and after the hour is up, you will decide who is on your team. By random selection, the order of the choosing will be…"  
Thor read the list of names. You were choosing fourth out of the six competitors. Njord was first. Of course. You remembered the list of names you had written down hours before and decided to keep a lookout for guards with those names.  
The six nobles led you and your competitors across the castle to the training fields. You stepped behind a fence leading to an open arena and watched as sixty men faced off against each other, honing their skills on swords, daggers, spears, and arrows. The other contestants were raptly watching the crowd, trying to gauge who to put on their teams. While you couldn't see names, you could sense which people belonged to your dream last night.  
There was a young boy, no older than sixteen, fighting with a dagger. His footwork was clumsy, and he held his knife too tight. You were skilled with a knife, so you could train him, but you weren't pleased by his lack of skill. It would take him awhile to catch up to his opponent, who was a giant of a man, expertly holding a dagger. But by the smirk on his face and the way he played with the boy, you could tell the giant man was cocky. He probably wouldn't listen to a word you said if you picked him. By looking around at the other guards from your dream, you saw the same thing. Less talent, but more potential and willingness to work.  
A bell chimed somewhere, and the guards sheathed their weapons and quickly walked to stand in a line along the wall. The nobles led you into the arena, and you stood in front of the line of soldiers. Some wore arrogant smiles. Some were nervous. Many were looking at you oddly, but when you glanced their way, they focused their eyes straight ahead of them.  
"Njord, you pick first," Loki said silkily.  
Njord chose the giant of a man without even glancing at his name.  
When your time came up, you glanced at the boy who had fought the giant man, glancing at his nametag.  
"Ari, you're on my team."  
There were a lot of blinking eyes and confused looks around the room, but nobody said a word (especially not Ari, who was too amazed to speak) as the boy joined your side.  
As competitors kept picking, you seemed to take all of the small, weak types. Loki couldn't figure out what your strategy was. Lose and blame it on your soldiers? He didn't take you as the type to give up without a fight.  
As Sinbad picked the last soldier, Thor cleared his throat.  
"Champions! Each of you has been assigned a sector of the arena. You are to go there and begin training immediately. One of us" he gestured to him, Loki, Sif, and the warriors three "will guide you and aid you for the first day."  
The nobles seemed to have been randomly picked to side with certain champions. Loki had been paired with you, and the two of you hauled your soldiers to the back of the arena. You faced the mob of young soldiers.  
"My name is f/n l/n," you spoke clearly and succinctly. "I am from Midgard, and I will be your teacher for the next month. Now, it's come to my attention that some Asgardians to not see women as fit to fight, so if any of you have a problem with that, you can fight me or Lady Sif right now."  
The looks around the group subsided until the men were at full attention.  
"Good. Now, I chose each of you because you have the most potential. I'm not gonna lie, some of you pretty much suck at fighting, but at least you're willing to get better. And trust me, I will make you better if it's the last thing I do. Now, keep your armor on, weapons at the ready, and sprint two laps around the arena like you're running towards a battle. MOVE."  
The soldiers ran, a little bit reluctantly. Most were definitely not sprinting. You shook your head at Loki.  
"They're dead as soon as they get back."  
Loki smirked. "They should be grateful they were even picked to partake in the tournament."  
"Nah, there's a reason they're here," you said. "I just wish they'd actually RUN LIKE I TOLD THEM TOO!" You shouted the last part at the soldiers as they started their second lap. You could were starting to see who was stockier, who was faster, who held themselves the best.  
Loki was impressed at your tactics. You knew where you stood in the hierarchy and where people thought you stood in the hierarchy, and you used it to your advantage. You weren't arrogant like Njord. You were smart. You were collected and tactful. He liked that about you.  
Once the soldiers finished their sprint, they stood at attention, some breathing heavier than others, in front of you.  
"Now, some of you didn't do what I asked you to do. I said SPRINT. If there were a battle across the side of the castle and you didn't make it in time to fight, do you know how many people could have died?"  
You paused.  
"A lot. A lot of people could have died. You need to take this stuff seriously. I'm not going to just make you chuck knives at a target all day until you hit a bullseye. I'm teaching you stuff you'll need in battle, ok? Now that I've got an idea of what you're capable of, we're going to start practice fights. And each of you will try fighting me."  
The soldiers glanced at each other, not sure what to make of you proposition. Loki thought this was going to be great fun.  
"Ari, you're up."

It happened a couple fights in.  
You had been sparring, correcting techniques and pummeling each of your guards to a pulp. They seemed a lot more prepared to listen to you now. But during one fight, your dagger slipped mid-battle, and out of instinct, you quickly used your magic to flip it back into your palm. No soldier was experienced enough to notice such a slip.  
But Loki noticed. He noticed everything about you.  
When the guards were all slumped in a corner, you called for an end to your part of the training session and handed control over to Loki. He taught them techniques for weapons you weren't familiar with, and, in a spur of the moment idea, he surprised the last soldier with magic. And that's when you realized you weren't from Midgard.


	5. Chapter 4

As soon as you got off of training duty, you cleaned up in your room hurriedly and hopped over to the library.  
Ok, so you hadn’t realized the Asgardians could use magic. This was mostly due to the fact that while you had read up on the Norse gods, the people you were involved with were not, technically speaking, gods. They were mortal. Granted they lived like 5000 years, but STILL. They could use magic! And so could you. So what if you were one of them?  
You stepped briskly into library, where you had never been before, and stopped suddenly. The place was HUGE. It was what you imagined the Hogwarts library would look like, only it had waves of murals painted on the walls and held a whopping five floors. You wanted to study the intricate carvings of the place more, but you had to find information fast. And it didn’t help that all of the bindings were in ancient Norse either.  
You looked up and down the rows, but nothing screamed “MAGIC” at you. You started climbing stairs, gazing vaguely at the corridors of books, hoping for an inkling of a feeling as to where you were going. When you got to the back of the third floor, something on the mural caught your eye.  
While most of the mural was tinted in golden, metallic colors, this section was painted a glowing magenta. A group of women, some weaving on looms, some with wands, and some with drums were depicted, confiding in each other in some swirl of arcane energy. You felt as if you’d seen the painting somewhere before, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling.  
“I thought I might find you here,” a voice behind you said. You’d been concentrating on the mural, and you jumped at the sound. You turned around to find Prince Loki.  
He walked past you, pulled out a book, and held it out to you, gazing into your eyes.  
“What’s this?” you asked.  
“A beginner’s spell book. I figured you might want it.” His gaze was unwavering, almost like he was accusing you of something, but not quite. You didn’t know what to do. Your only knowledge of the treatment of magic was the abhorrence of it back on Midgard, so you weren’t quite sure what game the prince was playing.  
“Why would I want that?”  
“You can’t lie to the god of lies.” He sounded bored, as if lying to him was an everyday occurrence. He lowered his voice. “We both know what happened on the training field. Your knife slipped. You used magic to get it back.”  
“And?”  
“And what?”  
“Why do you care that I can do magic?”  
“I only care,” Prince Loki said, “that a Midgardian, whose race possesses no magic, can wield such a weapon.”  
“Weapon?” you asked. You’d used magic for dumb things like getting food from the fridge without getting up, but a weapon? I mean, you’d used it to guess enemy attacks, but that was more defense than anything…  
“You’re not aware of the full implications of your abilities, are you?”  
“Apparently not. So, I can do what you did in the arena?” You were referring to when he duplicated himself, forcing the soldier to pick one of him to attack. The soldier has chosen incorrectly, charged at the duplicate, and gotten a face full of dirt.  
“I think you may have more Alfheim magic in you, but the two are very similar. Hence, the Asgardian magic book,” Prince Loki said, indicating the book he had given you.  
“Thank you,” you said genuinely. Then…  
“…This is all in ancient Norse.”  
“It’s the only beginner book we have. Most books are on magical theory, history, or have more advanced spells.”  
“So how do I read it?”  
“I could tutor you,” Loki asked too innocently.  
“…And what would you like in return?”  
“I heard you talk to Sif regarding a story about a horse named Sleipnir.”  
“I don’t think you understand how upset I am about the fact that that story isn’t true.”  
Prince Loki glared at you.  
“So what about the story?” you asked.  
“I researched the story. In exchange for magic lessons, you will agree to tell no one about this Midgardian myth.”  
You were trying hard to keep a straight face. This dude was seriously angry that people on Earth though he had been the mother of an eight-legged horse. Well, if you were in that position, you probably wouldn’t be too happy either.  
“Deal,” you said. “So, when should we start?”  
“I am free tomorrow after dinner. Would you be available then?” Loki asked, knowing full well you were available because the champions had no duties after dinner.  
“Yeah, I can do that.”  
“Excellent. I’ll see you in my room then.”  
“Oh, we’re not doing them in the library?” you asked.  
“Yes, it would be best to keep your abilities a secret for now. Bringing up your magical talent may bring about unwanted questions about whether you are truly Midgardian or not. If you aren’t Midgardian, you can’t compete. And if you want to beat Njord” (Loki knew you hated him) “then I would suggest staying in the competition.”  
“So, your room, it is?”  
“Tomorrow night, yes. I will see you then… (Y/N), isn’t it?” He had remembered your name since night one. But he couldn’t have you knowing that.  
“Thank you, Prince Loki.”  
“You may call me Loki.”  
“Oh, ok. Well, I guess I’ll see you then, Loki.” You took the book he had given you and left the corridor to leave the library.  
Loki watched you leave, then looked at the mural. There was no way you were one of them. And yet, as his heart fluttered at the thought of you, he so desperately hoped you were.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S BACK FROM THE DEAD  
> IT'S ME  
> I'm gonna try to finish this story up, even though I still have a ways to go!

“So, what sort of abilities do you possess?” Loki asked you. You were standing in his room’s library (yeah, his room was so big it had its own freaking LIBRARY) as the sun began to set. He had been reading a tome with curling pink script on the cover, but quickly closed it and shoved it away when you knocked on the door.  
“Um, my powers are sort of all over the place,” you said, wondering how to categorize them.  
“Name some of them,” Loki insisted.  
“Let’s see… I can heal wounds… I can manipulate energy to some degree, sort of like force fields and energy blasts… I think I’m sort of clairvoyant? I have weird dreams of stuff that ends up happening, I can sense people’s actions before they do them, and I can sort of feel where events are supposed to go…”  
Loki looked deep in thought as you began to falter.  
“And, well… yeah. I think that’s about it.”  
Loki’s eyes hovered on the book with the pink script for a split second before focusing back on you.  
“Much of this sounds similar to both Alfheim and Asgardian magic. If we do some experimenting, we may be able to discover what your lineage is. Do your father or mother have any connection with magic?”  
“I’m an orphan.”  
“...Oh. I’m sorry.”  
But while he was sorry, Loki was also thinking of how much of a blank space your heritage was. This would be harder than he expected.  
“Yeah, well, I guess it kind of makes me like Harry Potter. I’ll live,” you said, shrugging.  
“...Who is Harry Potter?”  
“Never mind. So, magic lessons, yeah?”  
“Right.” Loki snapped to attention. “You have the spell book?”  
“Yep.” You pulled the book from your pocket, and Loki took it.  
“Let’s start with something simple,” Loki said, flipping through the book. He held open the book to a page about a quarter of the way in. “Let’s start with an orb of light. This one doesn’t require an incantation, but it can take a bit to learn the technique. Once you get it, it should get easier and easier to conjure.”  
“So how should I start?” you asked.  
“Hold your hands together like you’re cupping water.”  
You did this.  
“Do you know the feeling you get when you conjure the energy you were referring to? Try creating that feeling again.”  
You exhaled all the air in your lungs and concentrated on your hands. After a few moments, you succeeded in creating an orb of energy, but not one of light.  
“I think you’re focusing too hard,” Loki said. As you concentrated, he’d been concentrating on you...r technique. Not you. Definitely not you. “Light is airy and free. Try to create a lighter feeling.”  
You laughed. “Nice pun.”  
Loki smiled for a split second before looking serious again.  
“Focus on your hands…”  
By midnight, you’d been successful in creating a weak ball of light. It had taken hours, but you felt like you had accomplished something. While Loki seemed frustrated that it had taken this long, he was a patient teacher. He would change your technique in the tiniest ways, experimenting with your hand placement, the tension in your body, and your breathing, and it had payed off.  
“The light will get brighter the more you practice,” Loki told you. “Practice when you can, but focus on the competition for now.”  
“Sounds good,” you said, absentmindedly watching the light cupped in your hands.  
“We can meet again in about a week’s time. Same time, same place, if you like?” Loki asked.  
“Yup.” You let the light go out in your hands. You stood up, and Loki walked you to the door.  
“Goodnight, y/n. Until next time,” he said, smiling softly.  
“Goodnight to you, too,” you said. “And Loki?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Thank you. For everything.”  
He inclined his head. “My pleasure. Just keep your end of the bargain.”  
“Will do.”  
As you walked away, Loki felt a surge of joy. He had never connected with someone as well as he did with you. Magic was something only he and his mother could control with great dexterity, and to share that with someone else was otherworldly.  
But as quickly as he felt that joy, he quelled it. He was nothing more than a teacher to you. Not even a friend yet. You had nothing to share.  
Even so, he turned back into his library and continued reading book with pink script, entitled “History of the Vala”.


	7. Chapter 6

You continued practicing weekly with Loki, but you weren’t making much progress. Sort of like Harry Potter and his patronus, you were only producing weak versions of all the spells that Loki taught you.  
“You may only have magic on one side of your family,” he assured you. “It will change how your magic affects things.”  
Secretly, he wondered if something was blocking your magic. There were spells to impede magic (not that many had many effect on him or his mother), though they were usually very obvious. He couldn’t see any markers in your general vicinity. Not that he was looking at you very closely. Maybe.  
He didn’t bother voicing this idea to you as it was only speculation. He also enjoyed spending time with you, not that he would ever admit it. You had more on your mind than fighting and feasting, like Thor and his companions did. You thought like him. You were collected like him. You didn’t give up easily when things mattered.  
You had made an impression on him that other Midgardians failed to do. And for this, he both hated and loved you for it. He grew to anticipate the closeness you began to share in the practice sessions. He began to make excuses to touch you, to change your stance or your hand position. He began speaking to you outside the practice sessions, so instead of being holed up in polite, boredom-inducing conversations with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three, he had a comrade to speak to about tactics and training. He even risked a couple of endeavors with you outside of the dining area. Two people noticed his change in behavior towards you.  
The first was his mother. Ever since Lady Diotima had announced the prophecy regarding Loki’s future love, she had been worried about him. He had taken it poorly, shutting himself in his library for days, brooding and trying to learn all he could about vala. He was now even more skeptical and calculating in his attempt to avoid any potential heartbreak. But now, he was opening up to you, and she was thrilled. Just because Loki would fall for a vala did not mean he wouldn’t fall for another girl, too.  
The second person to notice Loki’s change was, unfortunately, Lord Njord.   
As you began to progress in the competition, he studied what you did manically when he had the opportunity to check for cheating. Taking advice from the princes, Sif, or the Warriors Three was not strictly against the rules (actually, Loki left you to your own devices for the most part. You did almost everything he would have advised before he actually said anything about it.), but Njord insisted that he was giving you unfair advantages. Once he decided that Loki had begun paying too much attention to you, he decided to call you out on it. So, one day in training he walked up to you.   
“Woah, dude, no looking at my training regimen,” you told him, stopping your troops from practicing for a few moments. “Because that would be cheating!” you sing-songed.   
“How hypocritical, to accuse me of cheating when you’re getting help from Prince Loki!” he boomed. The rest of the trainers looked up quizzically. “I suppose he agreed to help because you can give him what we men cannot?”  
“Are you suggesting I’m sleeping with him in exchange for tips?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. “Bro, I can’t risk sleeping with anyone. I can’t be making babies out in the field. That’s dangerous. And even if I was, why do you care? You’re just as capable of sleeping with Prince Thor if you want some help.”  
“I don’t need any help!” You swear you saw some blush on his face from your suggestion of his actions with Prince Thor.  
“And neither do I. Now, run along and train your soldiers, or else my team will kick your team’s butt a lot sooner.”  
“Nonsense,” you heard Njord mutter as he left. He had stopped causing a scene and gotten bored when the others realized he was just blowing hot air and that they needed to get their legions’ butts in gear. Rankings of teams were set by points. Individual and group fights would take place between teams, and the winners of each round would gain points. The more fights you won, the more points you got. If you lost to someone ranked lower than you, you lost points. Your team had started in last place and was now in fourth. You were gaining quickly in just a few weeks, and you were eager to get some things straight with Njord, who was placed in first. You brought this incident up to Loki in one of your practice sessions. Loki was secretly furious at Njord (not that anyone felt any differently towards him), but kept a cool composure.   
“We can stop magic practice if you’d like,” he said.   
“What? Heck no,” you protested. “I just wanted you to know what happened. Plus it’ll be fun to laugh at later when I beat him.”  
“You are making tremendous progress,” Loki said. “What’s you secret?”  
“My magical dreams told me to choose those people,” you said, shrugging. “I think it was because they weren’t arrogant. They knew they weren’t great, but they wanted to improve, and now that they see the results, they want to keep improving. Can’t work with people who aren’t willing to learn, you know?”  
So that was your strategy. Well, Loki thought, if you could beat Njord with those scrawny kids, then you could do anything.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter. See you for more fight scenes next chapter!

You’d been having the dreams for weeks. Cold and darkness descended upon your senses every night. You’d try to fight it, conjure up some energy for a force field at least, but be sucked back into the darkness. The wind would roar in your ears, along with something deeper, more animalistic until it too faded. As the dreams continued, you began waking up sweating, trying harder and harder each time to save yourself, but it felt like something was blocking you, punching you in the gut before you could get your bearings. You decided to keep these dreams to yourself even though you knew they usually indicated trouble in the near future. Thor’s coronation was in the summer, not the winter. No one else was in view in the dream (granted your vision was limited). Still, you became a little jumpy, and you began training harder and harder. This only spurred on your team to train as hard as you, gaining momentum in the competition.  
Soon, Thor’s coronation was coming up, and Loki seemed put out by it. You only noticed his mood in subtle ways. It was no secret that the younger prince wanted a throne, yet you saw him congratulating Thor at every party, ever fine dinner. You felt like he was planning something, though you were unsure what, and you didn’t want to ask him in case it made him feel like you distrusted him. You did trust him, but you also knew he had an agenda that surrounded him. And you. Lately, he’d been including you in his plans, but it came as a surprise to you when he sort of asked you out.  
He asked about a week before Thor’s coronation during one of your practice sessions. It was nearly one o’clock in the morning when you finished up learning spells.   
“I’m afraid I will be unable to give you a lesson next week, as it is my brother’s coronation,” he announced at the end of the session.   
“That’s too bad,” you said, yawning. “Can you recommend any books or spells for me to work on in the meantime?”  
“Actually, instead of focusing on your magic, you should focus on your competition. The final matches will be held after my brother becomes king, and as you are in second place, you may want to tidy up before your soldiers face Njord’s,” Loki said.   
You nodded seriously. You began packing up your things to go.   
“Also, if you have any interest in attending, there will be a party for the nobles of Asgard and others in the Nine Realms after the ceremony,” Loki said.   
“I count as a noble?” you asked incredulously.   
“Actually no.”  
“Oh. Damn.”  
“Nevertheless, I was wondering if you would want to accompany me?” he asked, then added, a little too hastily, “You’ll make the entire thing much less boring. It is a great honor. None of the other competitors, including Njord, rank high enough to be present.”  
You blinked. Could he tell you had been crushing on him? As you’d gotten to know him more, you came to know Loki as more than just attractive and silver-tongued. He was deceptive, but with you, he was more open. He was calculated, and you both saw the world in a more logical, wary way. However, you both knew what you believed in and would find a way to stick up for it, though this didn’t always mean standing on a soap box and preaching about it. You saw in him a fierceness that you had, and when he let you into his world, even slightly, you felt at ease.  
You must have been silent for awhile because Loki quickly picked up a magical theory book and flipped to a random page.   
“You have no obligation to do this. It was just an offer,” he said in an offhand sort of manner.  
“I’d love to,” you said.  
Loki looked up from the book to see a coy smile playing on your face. He couldn’t quite tell what it meant or what emotion you felt, but a smile sneaked its way onto his face anyway.   
“Wonderful,” he said. “There will be a special seating area closer to the throne for the nobles that you may sit in. I’ll make the guards aware of the arrangements.”  
“Thank you so much,” you said, genuinely meaning it. “I can’t wait!”  
He nodded and let you go back to your room. As he watched you leave, he breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no party taking place, of course. While it was scheduled to occur, his plans would make sure that it never did. He needed you safe while the Frost Giants attacked the castle, and though he didn’t doubt your fighting skill in the least, you had rarely fought against magic. And if his heart truly had fallen for a vala, he didn’t need any more obstacles getting in his way. 

When the Frost Giants breached the security, no one had been around. Thankfully, the giants had been taken down by the automatic security enforcers. It was stupid to have put all the champions in the ceremony’s crowd, you thought. The greatest fighters in the Nine Realms all in one place during one of the biggest events in the galaxy led to a leak in another part of the palace. You were grateful nobody got hurt.   
You had told your soldiers to go on a field trip to learn the origin of the breach and how to defend it in the future. Now, you were trying to find Loki. When the announcement had been made of the Frost Giants’ attack, you had seen him glance briefly at you before he left to investigate. Now, you were in search of answers yourself (What had happened? How had they gotten in? Why the heck are Jotuns bad again because in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard they were totally chill and now they’re attacking us?). 

“You can’t just go after them, Thor,” Loki reasoned. He, Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif were in the Atrium, discussing the recent events. Thor was irate, but suddenly quieted and got a gleam in his eye at Loki’s words. Loki froze.   
“No, no, no, we’re not sneaking into Jotunheim to get revenge! It will start a war between our realms, Thor!” he yelled.   
“It will do no such thing,” Thor snarled. “If anything, it will teach them not to invade us again any time soon.”  
“We’ll be breaking the Allfather’s laws. He has forbidden our entry into their realm!” Despite his protests, Loki was ecstatic. His plan was going smoothly. No one was questioning anything.   
“You do not think this is more important? I will be king of Asgard, and I will not have my subjects believe I refuse to act on this matter. I am going. Who will join me?”  
The Warriors Three and Sif agreed to go, so Loki faked a begrudging look and joined the team as well. Thor regarded the team with a thoughtful look.   
“We may need one more party member,” he said. He was thinking along the lines of the great battle and magic strategists. Three and nine were optimal numbers for things as they were rooted in the deeper, more ancient Asgardian powers, but there were too many members to be a group of three, and it was too dangerous to bring in three more people to be a party of nine, lest they be discovered. Both numbers could be derived from the number of days in a month (27), and since they had too many for two…  
“We’ll need a seventh party member,” said Thor. “For fate to be with us.”  
Loki had not thought of this.   
“Why don’t we go in two groups of three? Will that not be luckier?” he said quickly, catching onto Thor’s train of luck.  
“Heimdal will not allow more than one group to go. We will be best off with seven. Were you not just lecturing us on the importance of the number seven in Midgardian tactics?”  
It was true. As you had told Loki about Harry Potter, the importance of the number seven had come up. Loki believed the power of Yggdrasil may have leaked into Midgard and empowered instances of seven, as it had a history of being linked with magic in Midgardian mythology. He may have recounted the information to a few others, one of whom was Thor.  
“Well, not tactics, per se, but it’s possible that magic-”  
“It may prove to channel our fate, then. Who should we bring? Njord?”  
“Not Njord. Absolutely not Njord,” Sif protested.  
“Then how about (y/n)? Has she worked with magic before?” Fandral asked.   
“I don’t believe so,” Loki lied.   
“I’ve seen her checking out magic books from the library,” Sif said. “She seems interested in it. Anyway, she’s second in the competition, and a killer fighter. If anyone can adapt to situation, it’s her. I say we pick her up on our way out and get going.”  
“I agree,” said Thor. “All in favor?”  
Sif and the Warriors Three nodded in agreement. Loki considered sputtering something about you being a woman to convince the group not to get you to join, but with Sif around, her knew that argument stood no chance. It wasn’t that he believed you (or any other woman) were less capable. He just REALLY didn’t want you to go.  
Because what if you got hurt? It was a new terrain, it was a new skill set, and you were fighting new enemies. He trusted you to defend yourself, but this had not been part of the plan at all. And if you got hurt in his attempt at gaining power…  
He would never forgive himself.   
However, he could not see any way to get out of his commitment to going with Thor if he wanted to pretend to plead Thor’s case when they got back, nor could he think of any way to stop you from joining them without it seeming like he cared too much or too little for you.  
Loki hoped the number seven really was lucky because he could use all the help he could get right now.


	9. Chapter 8

“I gotta know, is this illegal?”  
Loki was standing in front of the door to your room. He had come with a proposition: Come with him, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three to Jotunheim to exact revenge on the frost giants.  
“Yes. I take it you’re out, then?” Loki asked, secretly relieved that you had chosen to stay in Asgard.  
“What? Nah, I just want to know if I need an alibi or something in case we get caught,” you said. You shouted back to Brin, who was in your closet, preparing your outfit for the final matches of the competition (hopefully it included pants).  
“Hey, Brin! I’m gonna need some alone time to plan some battle tactics. Can you leave for a couple of hours?”  
Brin looked harried by the suggestion (the finale of the competition was only a couple days away), but obliged your request and left the room, glancing quickly at Loki on the way out. Loki looked at her sideways, too.  
“You believe your servant will be silent regarding our endeavors?” he asked.  
“Yeah, Brin’s pretty chill.”  
“...I have no idea what that means.”  
You put on the lightest, warmest armor you had and followed Loki out of the castle to where the others were waiting on horseback. They had two horses without riders, one for you and one for Loki.  
“Hey, I forgot to mention… I’m still not amazing with horses,” you said.  
“You can ride with me, then,” Loki said, directing you towards his horse. You nodded. Sif gave you a sort of knowing smirk, which you ignored. Soon, you and Loki were seated, and the party took off.  
When you arrived at the Bifrost, Loki decided to take over. He hopped off his horse, helped you off, and then strode over confidently to Heimdall.  
“Ah, Heimdall, good to see you!”  
“Your lies will do you no good here, my prince,” Heimdall said blankly. “I am under orders to let no one pass through the Bifrost until the Allfather permits it.”  
Thor stepped forward to deal with the situation while Loki sulked back, embarrassed to be seen like this in front of you. You shrugged when he looked up at you.  
“Do you think Thor will be able to get us through?” you asked.  
“I doubt it,” Loki answered. “But he has always had a certain charm that I lacked that made others find him appealing.”  
“Well, I think you’re appealing,” you sort of joked. He looked at you incredulously.  
While the two of you got lost in conversation, Thor continued his conversation with Heimdall. He had convinced the gatekeeper to let you pass. However, Heimdall was suddenly less concerned about the upcoming adventure and more concerned about you.  
“I cannot see her,” Heimdall said. “Physically, I can see her in front of me. But my second sight… I could only visualize the six of you approaching. She was nowhere to be seen.”  
“What do you speculate?” Thor asked.  
“It may have been she who slipped past my watch. Be wary of her, and go with haste.”  
“We will, Heimdall,” Thor said, shooting a curious glance at you. “Come, comrades! Our fate awaits.”  
You were only familiar with the portal between worlds in the Midgardian colony you had lived in, so the Bifrost was a whole new experience with you. You may have yelled more than a couple swear words as the rainbow energy consumed you and dropped the seven of you off in the realm of the frost giants. Loki caught you before you fell to the ground.  
“Can’t have a casualty before the fighting even begins, now, can we?” he said, smirking at you.  
“Shut the hell up,” you grumbled, making sure all of your weapons were in place from the journey.  
The seven of you marched onward to the castle gates of Laufey’s ice palace. This was nothing like Frozen, you thought. The ice was rough and craggy, full of shadows and niches to hide in. Your eyes flickered from rock to rock, waiting for something to jump out, but nothing did. In fact, everything dangerous was in plain sight.  
The ruler Laufey sat in a glittering ice throne, watching your party advance slowly. His gleaming red eyes stood out from his solid blue skin, glancing at each of you in turn.  
“Son of Odin,” he crooned. “You’re lucky I have even let you enter. What business do you have here?”  
“We wish to know how you breached the borders of our lands,” Thor snarled. “And we wish for the people involved in the plot against Asgard to be turned over to us!”  
“I assure you, those involved had no connection to me, and they have been punished severely,” Laufey said in a voice that clearly implied that neither of those statements were true. “Go back while I still allow it. You have no claims here.”  
“Thank you, we will take up your most gracious offer,” Loki interrupted. “Come, Thor…”  
“You best listen to your brother,” Laufey said, then broke into a slow grin as you and the others turned your backs to him. “Now, run along, little princess.”  
Thor grinned, and you knew this would not turn out well.  
The elder prince chucked his hammer at Laufey, who disappeared in the blink of an eye. The frost giant soldiers, who were previously standing at attention, came out of their trance and charged at your party. The seven of you formed a circle and proceeded to attack in different directions.  
Your dagger slipped in between the slightest cracks in armor that you caught with your keen eye. You took down soldier after soldier (granted, not nearly as many as Thor or his warriors did) and saw Loki out of the corner of your eye doing the same thing. He was using his magic to confront the giants, and you thought that was a good idea. You planned to follow suit when you saw a giant run towards him, cornering him against a gap in the cliffs that was too far to jump. You screamed at him to get out of the way, but it was too late. Just as the giant smashed into him, he vanished.  
“Looking for someone?” Loki said, popping right up next to you. You nearly sliced his head off.  
“You’re such an ASS!” you yelled, facing the giants attacking you again. You began conjuring an energy blast to get a hole in the giant army facing you.  
“Stop,” Loki hissed quickly.  
“What?” you said. Instead, you flipped your knife back into your hand and stabbed a giant in the eye.  
“Stop using magic. Only use it as a last resort. Or you’ll give away our advantage,” he snapped. He took your idea and blasted away the encroaching giants with magic.  
That sounded like a stupid idea to you, but hey, you weren’t gonna argue with someone who knew frost giants better than you.  
You heard a roar in the distance, and your mind froze for a second. You’d heard the same roar in your dreams…  
“Loki, I think something bad is going to happen. We need to get out of here NOW!” you yelled.  
Just as Loki nodded, you heard a scream as Fandral was pierced through the chest by a spear. You and Loki paled.  
“Thor! We can’t hold up any longer! We have to go!” Loki screamed across the expanse. Sif and Hogun were supporting Fandral and began to run towards a clearing to get to the Bifrost.  
Thor could barely hear them over the roar of the wind, the snarling of the giant creatures breaking out of their cages, and the sound of glaciers crumbling. He got the hint when he saw Fandral’s wound and began to carve a path through the giant army towards the Bifrost.  
“Y/n! What’s wrong?” Loki yelled. You were having trouble focusing. The cold, the darkness, the roaring… It was all from your dream. You felt like you were going to die.  
“Nothing! We just need to get out of here!” you said, legs shaking. Something bad was going to happen. You could feel it.  
Suddenly, you felt a rumbling as a giant creature erupted from the ground at your feet. You screamed, and your party ran faster. Thor electrocuted it and sent it into the abyss between the craigs you were standing on. The giants were gaining as you approached where you had entered Jotunheim. You heard Thor yelling for Heimdall, but the gatekeeper wasn’t answering.  
The frost giant army was nearly there when you felt the low rumbling again. You knew what was about to happen before it did because you had seen it dozens of time before. Out of the darkness flew the icy creature that Thor had blasted with lightning. It had survived its fall and come after you. Had you not been prepared, you all would have been crushed. Luckily, you reacted like you had in every dream, and this time, it worked.  
You threw up a force field of energy so strong it left you feeling light-headed. It was barely enough, and when the creature came down on it, it began to crack and splinter. Loki finally unfroze from his shock and sent up an even stronger force field, which threw back the creature into the abyss again. By this time, the giant army was nearly on top of the seven of you, but to you, it didn’t matter.  
As soon as Loki threw up his shield, yours crumbled, and you followed suit. As you passed out, you saw Loki’s face, mouth in an ‘O’, eyes wide with fear, and as your dream came true, you hoped it wasn’t the last thing you ever saw.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just tying up some loose ends!  
> Reader is still unconscious at this point.

-Loki’s Point of View-  
You crumpled to the snow, and Loki hoped he hadn’t killed you.  
Though it wasn’t strictly his fault, he should have seen the creature coming. He should of thrown up his shield first. You shouldn’t be lying motionless on the ground.  
A blast of fiery light shook the snow-covered land. Odin appeared on horseback as the Bifrost opened. Everyone froze as he took in Fandral’s wound and your broken form. To say he was pissed was an understatement.  
“Get her up, Loki,” he said dangerously.  
Loki took you in his arms bridal style, and he shifted to support you head as it lolled back. He could feel a heartbeat. Good.  
“Let us finish them together, Father!” Thor said triumphantly, putting his hand back on his hammer.  
“You will be silent!” Odin roared at his eldest son.  
The tundra was quiet while Thor stood in shock. Laufey strode toward the front of his soldiers, a cold (literally) look in his eye.  
“How dare you order your son to attack us,” he hissed. “With a vala on his side, no less.”  
“I see no vala among them-” Odin started.  
“Do not lie to me,” Laufey said. “The young woman whom the younger prince is holding invoked vala magic. My entire rank saw it, as did I.”  
Odin looked at Loki and you, and Loki nodded his head slightly in Odin’s direction to clarify that you were indeed a vala.  
“I had no knowledge of this. The girl claimed to be from Midgard and is fighting in our tournament as a Midgardian,” said Odin.  
Laufey’s eyes glinted like ice.  
“Funny how these things happen to slip past us. Speaking of which, I had no part in the attack on Asgard today. Nor did your son have permission to lead his comrades to attack my people.”  
“He will be justly punished,” Odin said.  
“Punished?” Thor growled.  
“Did I not tell you to hold you tongue?” Odin yelled. He turned to Laufey again. “I assure you, I held no part in this plan. I was informed by a guard that these warriors had left without my approval. I wish for nothing but peace between our realms.”  
“Yet your boy sought this out.”  
“And you are correct. These are the actions of a boy, so treat them as such.”  
“We are beyond diplomacy,” Laufey said testily, then suddenly swung his icy sword as Odin. The Allfather, however, was quicker, and he blasted his spear into the ground, forcing all of the Jotuns to their knees. Before any Jotun soldiers could counterattack, the Bifrost opened, swallowing you and the other Asgardians.  
In the company of Heimdall now, Thor pulled his hand away from his hammer and sneered at his father.  
“Why did you bring us back?”  
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Odin shouted back.  
“I was protecting my home!”  
“You could not even protect your friends!”  
Odin turned to Sif and Volstagg, who were holding up Fandral, and to Loki, still carrying you.  
“Get them to the healing room,” he growled. Clearly the next part of the conversation was not meant for their ears.  
Before he left, Loki tried to speak in Thor’s honor. “Father-”  
Odin turned from Thor again and yelled, “Get her to a healing room! And make sure she stays there until I can hear her story!”  
Loki nodded and ran out with you in his arms. As he carried you to the healing room, he noticed a burn on your left shoulder shaped like a snowflake.  
“Hulinhjalmur,” he murmered to himself. “The ancient sign for invisibility.”

After making sure you were safe (the healers had assured him you were just spent from casting such powerful magic), Loki turned and advanced toward the Vault. The conversation he had with his father there altered his life.  
After telling Loki of the child he adopted from Jotunheim, Loki stood stunned.  
“You could have told me from the beginning. Why didn’t you?”  
“You are my son. My blood. I wanted to protect you from the truth.”  
“Were you thinking the same thing when you hid me from the vala prophecy?” Loki yelled. “For YEARS, during which Thor was allowed to prance off with whatever maiden caught his eye, I was ignored. I thought I was unloveable then, but you’ve proven it now.”  
“You are capable of love. You are my son,” Odin said. He was beginning to feel lightheaded.  
“Are you sure? Because I’m the monster we tell children about at night!”  
“Loki...”  
“Isn’t it perfect, though? As soon as I find the vala, I learn what I truly am!” Loki said, hysterically.  
“She will see…”  
“See what? That I’m a bastard child? That I was never meant to be anyone but this beast?”  
Odin takes a good, long look at Loki, before making one last comment.  
“So, you’ve already fallen in love with her…”  
Odin fell to the ground. Loki, who was too fed up to realize that the Allfather was falling into Odinsleep, gaped, then called for the guards.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM ALIVE  
> Sorry I had a bunch of work to do  
> Here's a long chapter!

You woke up in the healing room hours after the Allfather had fallen asleep. It hurt to remember anything, so you had very little knowledge as to why you were there. Healers were bustling around. When one woman saw you awake, she hurried over to you and began taking your vitals.   
“So, how did I end up in here?” you groaned as she passed a screen of magic over you.  
“Your exploits in Jotunheim nearly killed you, my lady,” she said brusquely.   
“Oh, my God!” you yelled, sitting up. You instantly regretted this, as it sent a throbbing pain through your head and made your vision fuzzy.  
“Lay down!” the healer squawked, but almost immediately her supervisor shushed her and shooed her out.  
“That is no way to talk to our patient!” the head healer said. She turned to you. “Our apologies, Lady Y/N. We are still becoming accustomed to your new title.”  
“My what?”  
“As a vala, your rank is much higher than it was as a champion, and, should you accept King Loki’s proposal-”  
“Wait, hold on,” you interrupted. “I’m a what? And Loki is king now? When did that happen?”  
“You’re a vala,” the healer said patiently, starting where the lesser healer left off with monitoring your health. “The child of Lady Brizo, no doubt. Midgardians don’t become vala overnight.”  
“Ok, so, instead of making vague references that you know I won’t understand because I’m Midgardian, please tell me what the heck’s going on. Since when am I a vala? And who’s Brizo?”  
“Lady Brizo was a royal seer here years ago,” the healer explained. “During her time, the vala were sworn to celibacy. So, when she was found to have inappropriate relations with a palace guard, she fled to Midgard to escape her punishment. It was unknown what had happened to her, but ever since King Loki was given his prophecy of love, celibacy has not been enforced in years.”  
“So I suddenly have a mom?” you asked.  
“Yes, it appears so. Midgardians are incapable of true magic, and since what you displayed on Jotunheim has been deemed ‘true magic’, you must be her daughter,” the healer said, finishing your check-up.  
“SPEAKING OF WHICH,” you said, remembering where you were and what had happened. “What happened after I passed out? What happened to Fandral?”  
“The Warrior Fandral is healing,” she said. “He was in a bad state, but he will recover. As to what happened after you passed out, much has happened. The Allfather banished Prince Thor to Midgard to atone for his actions. However, the Allfather also fell into Odinsleep-”  
“Fell into what?”  
“A state of unconsciousness meant to replenish him,” the healer said. “Because he and Prince Thor cannot rule at the present moment, King Loki has assumed the throne.”  
You couldn’t tell for sure, but she seemed bitter about the news. You for one were too shocked by all of this new information to truly comprehend the enormity of it all.  
“And you said something about his proposition?” you continued.  
“Yes. He has asked for you as soon as you feel well. He most likely wishes to make you into one of the royal vala,” she said.   
“So can I see him now?” you inquired.  
“Your health appears fine, thought the burn on your shoulder hasn’t healed completely. But if you wish to wait while you rest up-”  
“No, I need to see Loki- I mean, King Loki- now,” you said, ignoring her words.  
The healer helped you out of bed, gave you clothes to change into, and sent you on your way to the throne room. When you stepped up to the door to knock, you heard voices. You would’ve respected whoever was talking, except that it was Lord Njord, and he was talking about you. Therefore, eavesdropping was the only viable option in this situation.  
“-I don’t understand why Y/N is still allowed to compete,” said Njord. “She clearly used her abilities to help her advance-”  
Oh man, the competition! You had completely forgotten about it!  
“And yet, Sinbad used his pyrokinesis to train his soldiers, and I have heard nothing from you on the matter,” Loki reasoned. You could practically hear the smugness dripping from his words, and you grinned.  
“His powers are fairly weak. She, on the other hand-”  
“-has barely used her powers, if you even have any proof that she actually DID use them.”  
“She has kept them hidden the entire time! It would be easy for her to choose the winners of the competition discreetly-”  
“And you chose before she did, and you didn’t even glance at those she chose as her soldiers,” Loki snapped. “My word is final. Y/N stays in the competition. Now, Njord, you may want to get back to training if you don’t want her to pass you in the final round.”  
Njord stayed silent for fear of Loki’s wrath. You could hear his footsteps on the tile as he approached the door, so you jumped back and leaned against the wall to pretend you hadn’t been listening. Njord opened the door, and when he saw you, he sent you a death glare, but continued on his way. After he turned down the hall, you knocked on the throne room door.  
“Enter,” Loki said, sounding irritated. You couldn’t blame him. Njord was annoying.  
You entered and did a weird sort of curtsy thing. You weren’t really sure how to go about Loki with his new status, but when he saw your attempt at a bow, he laughed. He took off his horned helmet/crown thing (seriously, what the heck was that?), set down his staff, and got up to greet you.  
“Hello, King Loki,” you said. The sound of you saying his new title sent shivers down Loki’s spine.  
“There are no need for formalities, Y/N,” he said upon reaching you. He took you hand and placed a kiss on your knuckles. You wondered about the change in his demeanor, but it was not unwelcome. “You have had a change in your title as well. You rival Njord now.”  
“This pleases me.”  
Loki laughed again.  
“I’m glad. Were you caught up on what happened?”  
“Pretty much,” you said. “Still a little groggy, but eh, I was passed out for… how long?”  
“Only a couple of hours.”  
“Oh. Well. That’s good, I guess?” You stretched, but felt a sharp pain in your left shoulder. Loki noticed you cringe.   
“I doubt your shoulder will heal completely. That mark is strong,” he said.  
“What mark?”  
“I suspected it earlier,” Loki said. “But it appears you have a mark on you to bind your magic. May I?”  
He gestured to your shoulder.   
“Yeah, of course.”  
He shifted your sleeve so he could trace the rune on your shoulder. Your stomach fluttered at his feather-light touch, but when he touched the mark, you winced. The heat of the burn began to cool as Loki used his magic to ice it.  
“Why would I have something like that on me?” you asked.   
“You’ve been told the story of Brizo, I assume?”  
“I got the run-down, yeah.”  
“She likely put it on you to hide you from Heimdall’s eyes. Hulinhjalmur is the Norse rune for invisibility. He would not be able to see you with it, but it would constrict your magic usage so as not to alert him to your presence. I suspect you shattered the spell when you saved us in Jotunheim, but its presence was too strong to leave you completely.”  
“Well, that was a lot of information that I’m not going to remember,” you said. “It does seem to clear up a lot of plot holes in my life story, though.”  
“What?”  
“Nevermind.”  
“Well, I’m glad you’re well, regardless” Loki said, puzzled. “And I invited you here because I have two propositions for you.”  
“Ok, ask away,” you said.  
“One: I’d like to invite you to be a royal vala. You will work with the best seers in the nine realms and be housed here in the palace.”  
“Oh, man,” you said. “I’d love to! I mean, I have to check with my boss. I’m basically the only translator for the colony in Asgard. But then again, he was ok with me in the competition? So he’ll probably be cool with it, but I don’t know-”  
“I will give you time to consider,” Loki said, smiling.   
“Thank you,” you said. “What was the other proposition?”  
“As I am not sure how long I will be in power, I would like another… advisor, I guess you could say.”  
“I’d be an advisor?”  
“Of sorts,” Loki said smoothly. “In particular, I’m looking for a queen.”  
“I… wait, what?”  
Was he seriously asking-?  
“Please, Y/N. I’d love to make you my queen,” Loki said. He looked into your eyes. “Rule with me.”  
You had no idea where this was coming from. Not that you weren’t extremely happy with his offer. But then again…  
“Is this because I’m a vala?”  
Loki froze.   
“What are you talking about?” he asked.  
“The prophecy said you would fall in love with a vala,” you said. “Do you really want this? Or are you trying to make a prophecy come true?”  
“I will admit the prophecy opened up my mind,” Loki said. “But I believe I fell for you long before today.”  
You considered his wording.  
“...How long have you known that I’m a vala?” you asked.  
“I had my suspicions, but I was not sure until today,” he said.  
“And how long have you had your suspicions?” you asked, glaring at him.  
He smiled.  
“A couple of months.”  
“And you didn’t tell me?!”  
“I had my reasons,” Loki said.   
“Stop being a smug ass, and tell me what they were.”  
He glowered.  
“Is that how you speak to your king?”  
“It is if you’re his queen!”  
There was a pause.  
“...Wait, so are you accepting-”  
“Well, I mean, I’d LIKE to just start with dating,” you said, flustered. “I mean, courting or whatever you call it? We haven’t known each other that long. And marriage is a huge step, you know? I-”  
“Then I’d like to take you to dinner tonight,” Loki said.   
“Well, that was smooth,” you said grinning. Loki matched your grin.   
“Do you accept?” he asked.   
“I accept.”  
“Then I will call for you in the evening,” he said. Loki leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on your forehead. “I can’t wait.”  
“Neither can I,” you said.   
Loki walked you to the door and bid you farewell. When he closed the door, his heart felt like it would burst. You had said yes. To HIM. Maybe Odin had been right about you falling in love with him, regardless of his true heritage…  
No, he thought. You could never know. He wouldn’t tell you. He turned on his heel to walk back to the throne.  
Neither you nor Loki was aware of the dissonance bubbling between his closest companions.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have one more chapter to go! Then maybe an epilogue? Who knows.

Your dinner with Loki went incredibly well, and he invited you on an outing in the palace gardens in a couple days time. You were happy, and you couldn’t remember being happy for such a long time. Everything on Asgard had been work related, but this was something completely new, and you loved it.  
Everything was as perfect as it could be, but something kept plaguing the back of your mind. Thor had been banished to Midgard, and the Allfather was unconscious. What was going to happen to them? You’d asked Loki if you could go to Midgard to help Thor out, but he was insistent that you stay with him in Asgard.  
 “The tournament is at it’s end. You need to stay focused,” Loki pointed out. “Besides, the point of Thor being sent to Midgard was to redeem himself. He can’t do that if you’re helping him at every turn.” You figured Loki was right. Besides, you didn't know Thor all that well (you figured he’d forget who you were if you showed up on Midgard to help him). You barely knew the Allfather either, but Loki told you that his state wasn’t permanent. He’d be able again soon. With the possibility of Thor’s departure lasting years, it was important for Loki to get the hang of ruling right away.   
You agreed with Loki on all points, but some part of you remembered him as the silver-tongued trickster. That part of you worried if he wasn’t just manipulating you. After all, he had kept your true nature hidden from you for months! Then again, he hadn’t been COMPLETELY sure, now, had he? And he loved you, right?  
 Right?  

Days after Thor had been banished, you woke up from a fitful sleep. Images flashed through your mind. Heimdall frozen in place. Laufey invading the castle. Loki with skin of a Jotun. Loki falling from the rainbow bridge. Normally, you would have informed Loki right away, but he had been in meetings for days. You hadn’t even had time to see him since your dinner together. Something about the dream didn’t seem right. It was fragmented, unclear. Even now, your visions were slipping away. You wrote down what you could remember and left to train your soldiers.  
Only days were left in the competition. That day was odd. Normally, you’d see the Warriors Three and Lady Sif watching you from the rafters, seeing how the champions were performing under this much pressure, but today, they were absent. You shrugged. They were probably under new orders, what with Loki changing battle tactics.   
That day you had agreed with Loki to go to the gardens, so when it came time for lunch, you showered, changed into something nice, and went looking for him. As it happened, he ended up finding you down a hallway, and he ran to catch up with you.   
Something was amiss. His fists were clenched tightly, and his smile was thin. He was on-edge, not that he had been anything less these last couple of days, but this time it was different.   
“What’s wrong?” you asked.   
“There’s a threat coming from Jotunheim. I’m going out to meet it,” he said. He looked at you squarely and grabbed you by the shoulders. “I need you to promise me you’ll stay away from the battle.”   
Well, that was suspicious.    
“Why-“  
 “Just… trust me, please.”  
 “If a fighting breaks out, I’m going to help defend,” you said. “I can’t promise to do nothing.”  
 “Promise me,” he said, taking your hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “I need you.”  
 “I…”  
 “My king!” A soldier yelled from the end of the hall. “They’ve broken our barriers!”   
“What?!” you gasped. Loki shoved you in the direction of the training barracks.  
 “Get your soldiers,” he said. “It’s time they learned true battle.”   
“Right,” you said, running in the opposite direction.   
Loki headed for the Allfather’s room, intent on destroying his real father and Jotenheim once and for all.  

As your soldiers armored up and began taking orders from you, you saw Sif and the Warriors Three fighting their way into the castle. After you sent your last soldier away, you cut through the battling Jotuns and got into their circle of protection. Sif immediately drew her weapon to attack you.   
“Sif! What the hell?” you asked parrying her stroke.  
 “You’re in league with Loki, are you not?” she snarled. “That traitor has you in his clutches!”   
“How is he a traitor?” you yelled above the noise of swords clashing.  
 “For starters, he tried to kill his own brother,” Sif said, going for your throat this time. “Then, he usurped the Allftather-“   
“What are you talking about? When did all this happen?” you asked, dodging her swing.  
Sif stopped her attack.  
 “Where have you been these last three days? Or has your love made you that blind?” she asked. A Jotun aimed a spear at her, but you swooped in a blocked it.   
“Why are you defending me?” she asked furiously.    
“Um, because we’re on the same side?” you yelled. “Now get your butt in gear, and kill these Jotuns instead of me!”   
“We are not on the same side! Loki wants the Jotuns to kill the Allfather so he can truly have the throne! He sent the Destroyer to kill Thor just this morning!”  
 You froze. “What?!”  
 “You really had no idea?” Sif asked. She killed the Jotun who aimed to attack you out of pity.  
 “Are you saying,” you said. “That my boyfriend just tried to kill his brother AND his father to rule Asgard?”  
 “Yes! And he’s fighting Thor on the Bifrost Bridge as we speak because his first attempt at murder failed!” Sif yelled.   
“I’M GOING TO *KILL* LOKI!” you cried.  
Sif saw the fury in your eyes and knew you were indeed on her side of the fight.  
 “They might still be there!” she said. “Go!”  
 The Warriors Three cut a path out of the attacking Jotuns for you, and you sprinted to the bridge.

  “I could’ve done it, Father!” Loki yelled, grinning maniacally as he hung from the Bifrost.  
 “No, Loki…” His father said, pain filling his eyes.  
 The light left Loki’s eyes, and you knew what he was going to do. You had seen it in your dreams.  
 “No!” you shouted as he let go of Thor’s hand.   
You dove at Loki and willed your magic into place. Your shoulder burned as the rune attempted to stop your use of so much magic, but you ignored it. Your magic shot like cords to Loki’s outstretched arm and firmly gripped him so that he wouldn't fall into space. Loki’s face was twisted with compassion and fury.  
 “Let me go, Y/n!” he yelled, fumbling with his own magic to get undone. Thor grabbed you around your midsection and pulled you back as you pulled on your magic cords. Odin grabbed onto Loki by his armor and yanked him out of space.  
When Thor let go of you, you ran to Loki and hugged him. You were crying, and Loki had no idea how to handle it. He gently put his arms around you and hugged you back.    
“Don’t leave her, Loki,” Odin said. “Don’t leave any of us.”   
You unlatched yourself from Loki’s arms and whirled around.   
“Oh, like you suddenly care? ‘No, Loki…’ What the hell was that? You don’t tell that to someone threatening to fall off a bridge!”  
 Odin looked like he wanted to punch you, but he was still holding Loki, so he was unable to. Thor took hold of Loki as well and redirected the conversation.    
“Let’s get back to the palace,” he said. “There are several things we need to discuss…”


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the end guys! In which the reader calls out Loki on his BS.  
> Thank you so much for reading!!

Loki had been locked up in his room for three days. The only ones to come in had been his servants (they gave him his meal and left quickly), Thor, and Odin. Loki was quite sure that the Allfather had forbidden Frigga and you from seeing him. Loki was also quite sure that his room was heavily guarded, though they had no need to worry about him escaping. He had no desire to, and he wasn’t sure why.    
Thor had already pleaded with him to change his ways, and Odin had already chewed him out in his own way, so when you finally entered his room, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Both of you had been thinking about this coming conversation for days, but it was up to you to initiate it. Loki would react.   
 As you opened the door, he eyes flickered quickly over you, then he faced front in his chair again, watching the fire in the fireplace. His face was blank.  You wanted to slap him. You probably should have. However, you knew that Odin had probably already done a fine job of calling him out on what he’d done. Regardless of what Loki deserved, you needed a different approach.    
You passed Loki and took a seat in the chair directly across from him. He watched you out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t face you head on.   
 “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?” you asked.  
 Loki tensed. While he had expected the question eventually, he hadn’t expected you to ask it first.  
 “There was no reason for you to know of my actions,” he stated.   
“Yeah? Because those actions directly affected me-“  
 “So this is about you, is it?” Loki snapped, still looking intently at the fire.   
“This is about us, Loki,” you said. He still shivered when you said his name, as if it were the first time you had used it. “I can’t be in love with a murderer.”   
“Because as an agent, you have not killed anyone?” he said. He pushed away your wording, you telling him that you loved him. You didn’t know.   
“You tried to murder an entire race of people,” you said more calmly than you felt.    
“They were a threat,” Loki said.   
“There are other ways-“  
 “Like what?” Loki snarled, finally looking your way. The rage in his eyes scared you. “Tell me that they wouldn’t have rebelled in the future. Tell me that the Jotuns wouldn’t have tried to murder the Asgardian people as they did three days ago!”  
 “You literally helped them!” you yelled back. “Don’t act like you’re above them when you helped plan these murders! Some of our soldiers didn’t come back, and you act like their lives were worth your selfishness!”  
 “How was I selfish by destroying the Jotuns’ king? Their ruler is now gone. It will be centuries before they can regroup-“   
“You only did it to kill your father, and we both know it!” you screamed. That shook Loki to his frozen core. There was no way…   
“How did you know that Laufey was my father?” Loki said, his voice shaking a little.   
“Your mo… Frigga. Queen Frigga told me how you were adopted from Jotunheim,” you said.   
 “And did she tell you how Odin only planned to use me to unite the realms? That I was never truly his son?” he cried.  
 “So what?” you said exasperatedly. “So Odin treats you unfairly? Your daddy issues give you NO right to just come in and destroy everything!”  
 “But-“   
“There are no ‘buts’. You made a choice. It was no one else’s fault but yours,” you said. Your face was hard, your expression set.   
The conversation settled as you both paused for breath. You looked directly at him, not quite glaring, and he met your gaze slowly.   
“So what do you think I should do now?” Loki asked softly. “I have committed foul crimes. Do you think really think I can just apologize, and everything will suddenly be better?”  
 “You have to come to terms with what’s happened,” you answered. “Because I don’t think you understand the gravity of what you tried to do. And then I think you’ll figure out what to do next.”   
“And what makes you think I can change?” Loki asked seriously. Surprisingly, you smiled.   
“If I can change from a regular Midgardian to a high-ranking, magic-using Asgardian in one day, I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” you said gently. “And if you step out of line, Thor will tell me, and then I’ll kick your ass-“  
 “Wait, you’re staying?” Loki asked, awestruck.   
 “Well, yeah. Odin offered me the position of being a vala here in the castle, and my boss on Midgard is pretty cool with it, so I’ll be sticking around awhile.”   
“And… you will stay with me? Even after everything? Even thought I am Jotun?” Loki whispered.    
“I’d like nothing better,” you said, smiling softly.   
 Loki quickly stood up, crossed the room, and caught you in a passionate kiss. You reciprocated and put your arms around his neck. You both smiled as Loki took his lips from yours and placed a small kiss on your forehead. He held you in his arms until the guards called for you to leave, and you left, ready to begin your new life with Loki.

  In light of recent events, the final portion of the Asgardian Training Competition was canceled, though you were deemed the unofficial winner because your soldiers proved to be the best fighters during the Jotun invasion. Lord Njord refused to accept this, but went home in disgrace after the Allfather chose the rest of the champions as royal weapons masters and did not include him.   
You stayed in the palace as a royal vala, though things slightly altered when your title was changed to princess. Haven eaten one of Idun’s apples, you and Loki lived and loved for thousands of years to come.  
The end.


End file.
